What types of activities can you use to get better acquainted with your students? If you have any other ideas, feel free to add them!
Games/Icebreakers
Bingo
You and your students can fill out a bingo sheet (see below or you can make your own) and find out information about your students that you may not have known if you used a questionnaire. This activity is interactive and gets students moving around and allows you to mingle as well.
Has read and seen all the Harry Potter books and movies
Has traveled out of the country
Has more than 2 siblings
Has a rock collection
Has participated in the state science fair
M&Ms/ toilet paper
Students and yourself can take either a handful of M&Ms or as much toilet paper as you may use in a day. For each M&M or square of toilet paper, you must reveal something about yourself. With the M&Ms, you can use a color code system.
Color Code Example:
Brown- general fact
Red- something they love to do
Orange- any extracurricular activities or out of school jobs they might have/do
Yellow- family members
Green- favorite science topics
Blue- something they want to do in the future
2 truths and a lie
Each student will think of 2 truths and 1 lie that they could share with the class. The class will guess which fact is a lie.
Survey/Questionnaire
Develop questions that asks students basic information about themselves, their interests, hobbies, likes and dislikes, contact information.
Have them fill them out privately either at home or during class at the beginning of the school year.
Sample questions-
1. Name, address, email, phone number
2. Do you participate in any extracurricular activities through the school or outside of school?
3. What do you like to do on the weekends?
4. What is your favorite/least favorite subjects?
5. What topics to you want to learn about this year in science?
6. What science topics interest you?
7. Where would you like to travel?
8. What do you want to be when you grow up?
9. What is your favorite food?
10. What type of music do you like/favorite tv show?
Scavenger Hunt
As a new teachers, you can use a scavenger hunt as a tool to get to know your surroundings (colleagues, students, etc.).
You can also have students participate in a scavenger hunt to get to know their peers and teachers better.
You could make your own with your own interests or use some of our ideas:
Find a teacher who shares the same hobby as you.
Discuss a student with their sports coach or academic advisor. (Teachers only)
Find another person in the building that has the same birthday as you or within 4 days of yours.
Keep track of how many students you see outside of school.
Chaperone a school event.
See how many parents will call you to argue about their child's progress vs. the number of parents who thank you for what you do. (Teachers only)
For student teachers, check out this page that has been created by former student teachers: Student Teacher Scavenger Hunt
Learning Style Inventory
Discovering the learning styles of all of your students will allow you to make their learning more personalized.
Examples of Inventories:
Auditory/Visual/Tactile Learners: http://www.personal.psu.edu/bxb11/LSI/LSI.htm
- This test has 24 questions that determines a spectrum of abilities based on the 3 types of learners: auditory, visual, and tactile.
Learning Styles: http://www.ldpride.net/learning-style-test.html
- This assessment can be a bit lengthy for a middle school student, but appropriate for high school level students. There are 30 questions and requires an email and username to view results.
Multiple Intelligence Inventory: http://www.ldrc.ca/projects/miinventory/miinventory.php
- This test will help you identify each of your students strengths and intelligences. There are 80 questions so it may be lengthy as an in class assessment, but could be assigned for homework, though use your judgment with your classes.
Personality Tests
The Big Five Personality Test: http://www.outofservice.com/bigfive/
This personalty test asks you 45 questions about how you see yourself as your person. The results show where you lie on a spectrum from openmindedness to closed mindedness, disorganized to conscientious, introverted to extroverted, disagreeable to agreeable, and calm to nervous. Teachers can have their students take this test and share results.
Keirsey Temperament Sorter: www.keirsey.com
Keirsey has a few different types of personality tests that you can use with your students, however the website now charges a price for the most of the results. Students can take this test and print out a mini-report of their results for free. This will let them know which of the four temperaments they are: guardian, rational, artisan, or idealist. The website gives information about each temperament.
Myers-Briggs Personality Test: http://www.personalitypathways.com/type_inventory.html
This test measures four areas of a person's personality. For each of the four areas there are two possibilities, creating 16 personality types. The four areas are Extraversion/Intraversion, Sensing/Intuition, Thinking/Feeling, and Judging/Perceiving.
Have your students take these surveys and print out the results for you to reference.
What types of activities can you use to get better acquainted with your students? If you have any other ideas, feel free to add them!
Games/Icebreakers
Bingo
M&Ms/ toilet paper
2 truths and a lie
Survey/Questionnaire
Develop questions that asks students basic information about themselves, their interests, hobbies, likes and dislikes, contact information.
Have them fill them out privately either at home or during class at the beginning of the school year.
Sample questions-
1. Name, address, email, phone number
2. Do you participate in any extracurricular activities through the school or outside of school?
3. What do you like to do on the weekends?
4. What is your favorite/least favorite subjects?
5. What topics to you want to learn about this year in science?
6. What science topics interest you?
7. Where would you like to travel?
8. What do you want to be when you grow up?
9. What is your favorite food?
10. What type of music do you like/favorite tv show?
Scavenger Hunt
As a new teachers, you can use a scavenger hunt as a tool to get to know your surroundings (colleagues, students, etc.).
You can also have students participate in a scavenger hunt to get to know their peers and teachers better.
Learning Style Inventory
Discovering the learning styles of all of your students will allow you to make their learning more personalized.
Examples of Inventories:
Auditory/Visual/Tactile Learners: http://www.personal.psu.edu/bxb11/LSI/LSI.htm
- This test has 24 questions that determines a spectrum of abilities based on the 3 types of learners: auditory, visual, and tactile.
Learning Styles: http://www.ldpride.net/learning-style-test.html
- This assessment can be a bit lengthy for a middle school student, but appropriate for high school level students. There are 30 questions and requires an email and username to view results.
Multiple Intelligence Inventory: http://www.ldrc.ca/projects/miinventory/miinventory.php
- This test will help you identify each of your students strengths and intelligences. There are 80 questions so it may be lengthy as an in class assessment, but could be assigned for homework, though use your judgment with your classes.
Personality Tests
The Big Five Personality Test: http://www.outofservice.com/bigfive/
This personalty test asks you 45 questions about how you see yourself as your person. The results show where you lie on a spectrum from openmindedness to closed mindedness, disorganized to conscientious, introverted to extroverted, disagreeable to agreeable, and calm to nervous. Teachers can have their students take this test and share results.
Keirsey Temperament Sorter: www.keirsey.com
Keirsey has a few different types of personality tests that you can use with your students, however the website now charges a price for the most of the results. Students can take this test and print out a mini-report of their results for free. This will let them know which of the four temperaments they are: guardian, rational, artisan, or idealist. The website gives information about each temperament.
Myers-Briggs Personality Test: http://www.personalitypathways.com/type_inventory.html
This test measures four areas of a person's personality. For each of the four areas there are two possibilities, creating 16 personality types. The four areas are Extraversion/Intraversion, Sensing/Intuition, Thinking/Feeling, and Judging/Perceiving.
Have your students take these surveys and print out the results for you to reference.